Corrugated plate for heat exchanger and heat exchanger with said corrugated plate

ABSTRACT

An oblong corrugated plate for heat exchangers, whose corrugations are arranged symmetrically with relation to its longitudinal axis, at an angle to it; at one end of the plate there are additional corrugations located, in the main, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate.

[ 1 Jan. 28, 1975 Uhited States Patent Kovalenko et al.

[52] U.S. Cl. 165/166 [51] int. F28f 3/00 [58] Field of Search............................. l65/l66, 167

[ CORRUGATED PLATE FOR HEAT EXCHANGER AND HEAT EXCHANGER WITH SAID CORRUGATED PLATE relation to its longitudinal axis, at an angle to it;.at one administratrix Jan. 16, 1970 end of the plate there are additional corrugations lo- [22] Filed:

cated, in the main, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate.

[2]] Appl. No.: 3,316

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JAN 2 81975 SHEET 10F 3 Pmmimm 3.862.661

SHEET 3 BF 3 kkkkkkkk 1 CORRUGATED PLATE FOR HEAT EXCHANGER AND HEAT EXCHANGER WITH SAID CORRUGATED PLATE The present invention relates to the plate heat exchangers with corrugated plates.

Known in the art are heat exchangers with corrugated plates of a rectangular shape.

Located at the corners of each plate are holes for letting the heat-exchange media in and out. Stamped at the edges of the plate and around each hole are slots for elastic gaskets.

The heat-transfer part of the plate is corrugated, the corrugations being either pointed or semispherical. The corrugations are arranged symmetrically with relation to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the plate, at an angle of about 60 to this axis. In each pair of corrugations arranged symmetrically to each other, one of them is a continuation of the other.

The plates are installed in the heat exchanger by groups so that in each pair of adjacent plates one plate is turned in its plane through l80 with relation to the other. The heat exchange media are fed in on both sides of each plate.

Each pair of adjacent plates forms a passage which is limited at the plate edges by an elastic gasketIThe area through the passage is determined by the height of the corrugations which contact each other at individual points of the adjacent plates so that one of the heatexchange media, entering the passage, moves in a zigzag manner. This createsturbulence which increases the rate of heat exchange.

When the heat-exchange medium enters said passage, through any one of the four holes, it comes across the corrugations of one of the adjacent plates in the opening narrow part of the passage formed by the plate corner, said corrugations being located across the direction of flow. As a result, the hydraulic resistance in said section of the passage exceeds considerably the resistance in the other sections where the liquid is distributed uniformly over the entire width of the plate. At the outlet end of the passage the hydraulic resistance again grows for similar reasons. The velocity of the medium in the inlet and outlet sections of the passage is so high that is causes pulsation which results in hydraulic impacts, the latter exerting practically no influence on the rate of heat exchange but raising the hydraulic resistance. These sections of the passage are often covered with the deposits of salts and crystals precipitating from the heat-exchange media, said deposits obstructing the flow of the media through the passage.

An object of the present invention resides in eliminating the aforesaid disadvantages.

The main object of the invention resides in providing a corrugated plate for heat exchangers which would offer a comparatively low resistance to the flow of the heat exchange media while ensuring the same rate of heat exchange as the known plates.

This object is achieved by providing an oblong corrugated plate whose corrugations are arranged symmetrically with relation to its longitudinal axis and which is provided at one end with additional corrugations located, in the main, parallel to said axis.

In such an arrangement the additional corrugations offer a considerably lower resistance to the flow of the heat-exchange medium than the known corrugations while a relatively small area occupied by them at the end of the plate exerts practically no influence on the rate of heat exchange.

in one version of the corrugated plates it is practicable that the additional corrugations be located at that part of the plate where the ends of the main corrugations reaching the plate edges are farther from said edges than are the other parts of the same main corrugations.

Such an arrangement of the corrugations reduces materially the hydraulic resistance at the point where the heat-exchange medium enters the passage. formed by a pair of plates.

This object can also be achieved in a different manher, by locating the additional corrugations at that part of the plate where the ends of themain corrugations reaching the plate edges are nearer to said edges than are the other parts of the same main corrugations.

It is no less practicable that the corrugations, both main and additional, would be a continuation of one another. This will reduce the hydraulic resistance still further. I

It is practicable that the plates with additional corrugations located at one end of the plate be alternated in a heat exchanger with the plates whose additional corrugations are located at the other end of the plate.

This will reduce the hydraulic resistances at the points where the heat exchange media enter the passage formed by the plates and where they leave said passages.

A substantial advantage of the present invention resides in that the hydraulic resistance at the inlet and outlet ends of the passages formed by the plates is at least two times reduced.

Given below is a detailed description of the embodiments of the corrugated plate according to the invention, and ofa heat exchanger incorporating theclaimed plates, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the first version of the corrugated plate according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a second version of the corrugated plate;

FIG. 3 is a schentaic view of a heat exchanger with corrugated plates.

The first version of the corrugated plate for heat exchangers is of an oblong shape, approaching a rectangle, with triangular holes 1, 2, 3 and 4 (FIG. 1) at the corners for letting the heat-exchange media in and out. The slots 5 stamped along the edges of the plate and around each of the holes l, 2, 3, 4 accommodate elastic gaskets (not shown in the drawing). The larger portion of the heat-transferring area of the plate is taken by the main corrugations 6 arranged symmetrically with relation to its longitudinal axis AA (axis of symmetry). These corrugations are arranged at an angle of 50 to 60 to said axis. The main corrugation Slocated on one side of said axis and a symmetrical main corrugation located on the other side of said axis are a continuation of each other.

At the edge of the plate from which the ends of the main corrugations 6 adjoining the plate edges are located farther then the other parts of the same main corrugations, there are additional corrugations 7 running parallel to the longitudinal axis AA of the plate. The additional corrugation 7' is a continuation of the main corrugation 6 which is made to reduce the hydraulic resistance of the plate.

All the corrugations of the plate are either of a pointed or semispherical shape. The ends of the plate are provided with cutouts for proper alignment of the plate during installation in the heat exchanger. Located on both sides of each cutout 8 are pockets for connecting the plates with the shackles (not shown) intended to fasten the plate in the heat exchanger.

The second version of the corrugated plate is characterized in that the additional corrugations 7a (FIG. 2) are located at that end of the plate to which the ends of the main corrugations 6a, reaching the plate edges, are nearer than the other parts of the same main corrugations 6. The additional corrugations 7 (FIG. 1) and 7a (FIG. 2) reduce considerably the hydraulic resistance of the plates.

The heat exchanger may be built not only with the plates of the first version alone or with those of the second version alone, but with both types of plates simultaneously. In the latter case the plates of the first type 10 (HO. 3) should alternate with those of the second type 10a in the group of plates.

The plates 10 and 100 are assembled between the rods 11 and 12 whose ends are secured in the stationery plates 13 and 14. The corrugated plates are held to the rods by shackles and are compressed by a movable plate 15. The holes in the plates form headers, some of which communicate with the pipe connection 16 for letting in the heat-exchange medium, said pipe connection being connected to the stationary plate 14, while the rest of them are connected with the pipe connection 17 in the movable plate for letting this medium out. The second heat-exchange medium enters the heat exchanger through the pipe connection 18 and through the header formed by the other holes in the plates. This medium is discharged through the pipe connection 19 connected to the stationary plate 14. The direction of flow of the heat exchange media is shown by arrows in the drawing.

' It must be understood that the corrugated plate may have no holes for the admission and discharge of the heat exchange media. In this case the plates are located between the headers which are open at the plate corners and the gaskets between the plates are laid so that the corners of said plates remain unsealed for free admission and discharge of the heat-exchange media.

What we claim is: i

1. An oblong corrugated plate for heat exchangers, said plate having corrugations arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof and at an angle to said axis, at least a part of the corrugations at one end of the plate being disposed essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate.

2. A plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the corrugations parallel to the axis are disposed at the end of the plate from which the ends of the inclined corrugations adjoining the ends of the plate are spaced at a greater distance than the other portions of said inclined corrugations.

3. A plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parallel corrugations and the inclined corrugations are extensions of one another.

4. A heat exchanger having plates according to claim 2, wherein plates alternating with similar plates are each turned with respect to the preceding plate in the plane of the plate. 

1. An oblong corrugated plate for heat exchangers, said plate having corrugations arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof and at an angle to said axis, at least a part of the corrugations at one end of the plate being disposed essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plate.
 2. A plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the corrugations parallel to the axis are disposed at the end of the plate from which the ends of the inclined corrugations adjoining the ends of the plate are spaced at a greater distance than the other portions of said inclined corrugations.
 3. A plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parallel corrugations and the inclined corrugations are extensions of one another.
 4. A heat exchanger having plates according to claim 2, wherein plates alternating with similar plates are each turned 180* with respect to the preceding plate in the plane of the plate. 